Update 11/7/2018:

Attention All High School Civics Teachers:

By joining First you will have access to

a simulation election ballot customized to the voter precinct of your school (NOTE: Ballots will not be available until early October)

a private discussion platform to network you with civic-minded educators across the state

a lesson plan portfolio that includes these NC standard-aligned curriculum resources

Designing a School-Wide Simulation Election
How to Vote & Why It Matters
National, State and Local Elections: What’s the Difference
Political Parties & Ideologies
The Role of Media in Elections
The Role of Money in Elections
The Results Are In : How to Analyze the First Vote Election Data
Constitutional Amendments on the Midterm Ballot

If you have already signed up:

First of all, thank you! We are glad you have joined our community of educators who want to bring this meaningful experience to their students and develop life-long engaged citizens.

You should have received an email with instructions on how to join the new Participate private platform. This will provide you with access to the lesson plan portfolio and information about the simulation elections.

If you have not received this email, please contact Hunter Buxton at buxton@ednc.org

First Vote NC, an initiative of EducationNC, launched an election simulation platform in conjunction with the 2016 elections for NC public and charter high schools. By offering schools an online election platform, First Vote helps teachers bridge the gap between what students are learning in civics class and how they translate that information into meaningful application in the real world. If students have an opportunity to practice voting every year, voting becomes a habit. Let’s make North Carolina a leader in cultivating civically engaged and informed young people.

All you need is any device connected to the internet — computer, tablet, or smartphone. Simply register your school to participate and the simulation election platform built by EdNC will automatically generate a customizable ballot, all based on your school’s address.

First Vote NC is designed to tie in with the American History: Founding Principles, Civics and Economics course. It teaches real-world knowledge and higher order thinking as it asks students to reflect, solve problems, answer complex questions, work with others, lead, and produce a public product.

Graphically illustrated election results and downloadable data sets provide an easy and fun way for students to analyze the data — helping students look at themselves, their school, and their peers across North Carolina in the context of elections and political issues.

Create an authentic civic experience for your students!

Engaging, easy to use, and FREE

Working to make Students Civically Engaged, Actively Prepared, and Consistently Inspired.

Our Impact

This was an excellent resource and set of activities, well put together. Emails were timely and helpful. The website was a breeze to navigate. My students are still talking about it. This may have impacted them more than any other activity they have participating in this semester!

I truly appreciate the effort of the staff, the quality of lesson plans available. I know that my students understand the electoral process better because of First Vote! Thanks for helping me become a more effective Civics teacher to my students!

This was a wonderful idea and amazing inaugural year.

The best part was the way that First Vote was able to tap into a population base that was apathetic and ignorant of the voting process. The students had no knowledge of the process nor did they want to gain knowledge of the process until they found out they were going to be a part of the process.

I loved this initiative and the real-world application. I wish we could find a way to use these ideas even when there is not a presidential election. Would it be possible to include state and local elections every year?

- Civics teacher and First Vote user

It isn’t enough to just register — it isn’t even enough to just vote. Our aim is to create an informed and involved citizenry.

Thanks to the future voters at Enloe High School in Raleigh, NC for this video.